Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import permit applications for the month of May totaled 1,996,000 net tons (NT). This was a 0.7 percent increase from the 1,983,000 permit tons recorded in April and a 6.5 percent increase from the April preliminary imports total of 1,874,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in May was 1,495,000, up 8.5 percent from the preliminary imports total of 1,378,000 in April. For the first five months of 2026 (including May SIMA permits and April preliminary imports), total and finished steel imports were 8,968,000 NT and 6,613,000 NT, down 27.5 percent and 27.7 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2025. The estimated finished steel import market share in May was 17 percent and is 16 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in May permits vs. April preliminary imports include hot rolled sheet (up 112 percent), tin free steel (up 92 percent), plates in coils (up 40 percent), wire rods (up 36 percent) and oil country goods (up 25 percent). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2025 include standard rails (up 69 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 53 percent), reinforcing bars (up 19 percent) and electrical sheets and strip (up 12 percent).
In May, the largest steel import permit applications were for South Korea (385,000 NT, up 32 percent from April preliminary imports), Canada (256,000 NT, down 5 percent), Brazil (237,000 NT, up 10 percent), Vietnam (145,000 NT, up 18 percent) and Japan (124,000 NT, up 67 percent). Through the first five months of 2026, the largest suppliers were South Korea (1,558,000 NT, up 23 percent), Canada (1,252,000 NT, down 49 percent) and Brazil (1,,167,000 NT, down 46 percent).
Published July 2026
